DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”), is pleased to announce that DIF Core Infrastructure Fund II (“DIF CIF II”) and its portfolio company Valley Fiber Ltd. (“Valley Fiber”) have formalized the agreement to invest in the Manitoba Fiber Project together with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (“CIB”). This agreement will significantly grow DIF CIF II’s investment in Manitoban rural communities and Valley Fiber.
Valley Fiber is a telecommunications infrastructure company and internet services provider that specializes in the development, construction, and operations of fiber and fixed wireless infrastructure for residential and commercial use. Valley Fiber was incorporated in 2016 and has successfully built a presence in Manitoba, constructing high-quality telecommunications infrastructure to service historically underserved rural Manitoban communities. Based in Winkler, Manitoba, Valley Fiber operates in more than 20 municipalities.
In April 2020, DIF CIF II completed a majority investment into Valley Fiber. Since this investment, Valley Fiber has expanded and enhanced its product offering and further grown its geographical footprint. The agreement with CIB will enable a broadband infrastructure project that supports the economic growth for the benefit of Canadians. Furthermore, this project will expand Valley Fiber’s reach by targeting to connect 48,500 households with dedicated fiber-to-the-home in Manitoban rural municipalities over the coming years.
Willem Jansonius, Head of DIF CIF, said: “The collaboration with Valley Fiber and CIB have proven to be very successful and this investment represents our next step into the fast-growing telecom infrastructure sector.”
In addition, DIF CIF II has extended its capital commitment to Valley Fiber to fund future organic growth and add-on opportunities in the near term. Valley Fiber and DIF are committed to the partnership of bringing broadband to underserved communities in Canada.
About DIF Capital Partners
DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent fund manager, with more than €9.0 billion in assets under management across nine closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF Capital Partners invests in greenfield and operational infrastructure assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australasia through two complementary strategies:
- Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure Fund VI is the latest vintage, target equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and (renewable) energy projects.
- DIF CIF funds target equity investments in small to mid-sized economic infrastructure assets in the telecom, energy, and transportation sectors.
DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 160 professionals, based in nine offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For further information please visit www.dif.eu
Contact:
Allard Ruijs, Partner
